(REGINA) – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is pleased with the outcome of the tripartite industry-federal-provincial roundtable meeting held yesterday in Regina, Saskatchewan. Important steps were made in strengthening the three-way partnership in Canadian agriculture policy, and there was strong support for continuing to build on CFA’s innovative proposals for a Canadian Farm Bill.

“There has been a real need over the past few years to get the industry-government partnership back on track. I think we achieved that here in Regina,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “Ministers and farm leaders were in agreement Canadian agriculture needs policy that leads to growth in profitability, not just volume. And to do that we need a long-term strategy, supported by short- and medium-term measures to get us there.”

Farm leaders were particularly pleased with the number of ministers who attended the roundtable meeting. Those few who were not able to attend sent their Deputy Ministers. There was some disappointment Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Andy Mitchell was unable to attend. “Minister Mitchell has often spoken of the need for transformative change, and transformative change was at the heart of our discussions in Regina. That’s why I’m disappointed the Minister was not there,” said Friesen.

At the roundtable meeting CFA unveiled to ministers its proposal for an Agriculture Policy Framework (APF) II – a Canadian Farm Bill. The CFA proposal offers a new strategic, long-term vision for achieving strength, growth and profitability in the industry by taking a three-pillar approach to agriculture policy. The three pillars of CFA’s Canadian Farm Bill are:

• The Public Goods and Services Pillar. Under this pillar producers work with society to achieve certain environmental and production objectives. Costs for achieving objectives that address consumer demand or public good and passed on to the beneficiaries – consumers and the general public.
• The Business Risk Management (BRM) Pillar. BRM programs are designed to provide stability when an unforeseen loss has occurred. The new APF II will need to continue to improve these programs to ensure they are responsive, and production insurance will need to be extended to all commodities across the country.
• The Strategic Growth Pillar. To achieve strength and growth in the industry the new APF must ensure that the industry’s economic engine is working smoothly. Together, various components must be strategically meshed together to make Canadian agriculture grow. This should include: promotion and support for the development of cooperatives and collective action, reforming the Competition Act, developing profitable export markets, and protection of the three pillars of supply management – Production Discipline, Producer Pricing and Import Controls.

Ministers have agreed to move forward in partnership with industry on developing CFA’s ideas, to build a new strategic plan for Canadian agriculture.

“I think it is fair to say that Canada’s agriculture ministers were excited with the innovative ideas CFA presented to them yesterday,” said Friesen. “If we can continue that spirit of engagement and cooperation  demonstrated in Regina, I believe we can achieve everyone’s goal: real transformative change that leads to sustainable market profitability for Canadian agriculture.”

CFA’s proposal for APF II, a Canadian Farm Bill, can be found on the CFA web site: www.cfa-fca.ca

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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.